Metrolink No. 800’s Journey to Perris
Documenting the final move of Southern California’s preserved Metrolink F40PH
On October 24, 2026, former Metrolink F40PH No. 800 arrived at the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California. The locomotive had been donated to the museum in late 2025, but its physical move to Perris unfolded over four closely watched days in October 2026.
Photographs, videos, social-media updates, and firsthand observations documented many stages of the journey. Years from now, it may be easy to remember that Metrolink No. 800 was preserved. The details of how it reached Perris are easier to lose. This article preserves that timeline while the events, images, and eyewitness accounts remain readily available.
For a fuller account of the locomotive’s history, including its construction as Amtrak No. 396, its acquisition and service with Metrolink, and the details of its donation, see Western Rail Archive’s dedicated Metrolink No. 800 equipment page. This article focuses specifically on the move of October 21-24, 2026.
October 21, 2026: SCRM Announces the Coming Move
The public story began on Wednesday, October 21, when the Southern California Railway Museum announced that F40PH-2 No. 800 was the newest addition to its collection. The museum credited the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, better known as Metrolink, with donating the locomotive and said plans were underway to move it to Perris.
The museum’s Instagram post said the donation itself had taken place in late 2025. After years of uncertainty surrounding the locomotive’s future, the remaining question was no longer whether No. 800 would be preserved, but when and how it would make the trip to its new home.
Activity was already underway. At 6:08 a.m. on October 21, a post in the public Heads Up California Railfans Facebook group reported that an F125 had been coupled to No. 800. The group’s posts would become an informal, near-real-time record of the move over the next several days.
October 22, 2026: Freeing No. 800 from Keller Yard
By Thursday morning, October 22, the challenge of moving a locomotive that had spent years in storage had become apparent. Contemporary railfan reports said No. 800 had rusted to the rails at Keller Yard and required multiple attempts over several days to free it.
At 10:10 a.m., a group update reported that No. 800 was no longer coupled to Metrolink No. 903 and expressed hope that crews could get the stored locomotive unstuck. At 12:22 p.m., another short update announced that No. 800 was gone. With that, the first stage of the move was complete.
October 22, 2026: A Final Trip over the San Bernardino Line
After leaving Keller Yard, No. 800 was moved to Metrolink’s Eastern Maintenance Facility and placed on the rear of an out-of-service Metrolink equipment train bound for San Bernardino.
At 1:14 p.m. on October 22, the train was documented passing Montclair. Video of the movement showed No. 800 coupled to the end of the consist, behind Metrolink locomotive No. 852 and the passenger equipment ahead of it.
The movement gave the retired F40PH one more trip over the Metrolink San Bernardino Line. No. 800 was no longer operating under its own power, but it was once again traveling across part of the commuter-rail network it had served.
By 5:26 p.m., a railfan update placed No. 800 at the Eastern Maintenance Facility and ATSF SD45-2 No. 5704 at San Bernardino, with both locomotives staged for the planned Saturday move to Perris.
October 24, 2026: BNSF Takes the Special South
The final transfer began on the morning of Saturday, October 24. BNSF assigned Tier 4 GE locomotives Nos. 3721 and 3700 to move Metrolink No. 800 and ATSF No. 5704 from San Bernardino to Perris over the Metrolink Perris Valley Line.
The consist placed BNSF Nos. 3721 and 3700 on the point, followed by Metrolink No. 800 and ATSF No. 5704. Railfans spread out along the route, and the unusual special was photographed and recorded repeatedly between Riverside and Perris.
No. 5704 had already been waiting in San Bernardino following its own trip away from the museum. For purposes of No. 800’s story, the important point is that the two preserved locomotives were paired in San Bernardino and completed the trip to Perris together.
October 24, 2026: SP 3100 Takes Over on Museum Grounds
Once the special reached Southern California Railway Museum grounds, Southern Pacific No. 3100 took over the move. The museum locomotive coupled to Metrolink No. 800 and ATSF No. 5704, then pulled the pair down the museum’s main track.
The arrival took place during a previously scheduled operating event, so the museum main line was already in use. Non-powered former COASTER control car No. 2105 was on the point of the excursion train, with Santa Fe No. 108 coupled behind it to provide the motive power.
SP No. 3100 brought the arriving locomotives down the main line to a point just before the siding near the south end of the museum’s main track. The movement then had to clear the main so the excursion train could resume its normal operations.
October 24, 2026: No. 5704 Makes the Final Shove
After positioning the pair near the siding, SP No. 3100 uncoupled. ATSF No. 5704 then made the final move under its own power, shoving Metrolink No. 800 and itself into the siding.
The shove cleared the museum’s main track, allowing the excursion consist led by COASTER No. 2105 and powered by Santa Fe No. 108 to resume operations.
It was a fitting conclusion to the transfer. After being freed from Keller Yard, carried to San Bernardino on a Metrolink equipment move, and hauled to Perris by BNSF, No. 800 completed the final few feet of its journey with assistance from another preserved locomotive returning home. With the siding move complete, Metrolink No. 800 had reached its new home.
Timeline of Metrolink No. 800’s Move
The following chronology consolidates the dated public reports and firsthand observations that documented the move:
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
| October 21, 2026 – 6:08 a.m. | A Heads Up California Railfans group post reports that an F125 is coupled to No. 800 as move preparations begin. |
| October 21, 2026 | SCRM announces that No. 800 was donated in late 2025 and that arrangements are underway to move it to the museum. |
| October 22, 2026 – 10:10 a.m. | A railfan update reports that No. 800 is no longer coupled to Metrolink No. 903 and that crews are still working to get it unstuck. |
| October 22, 2026 – 12:22 p.m. | A group update reports that No. 800 has left its storage location at Keller Yard. |
| October 22, 2026 – 1:14 p.m. | No. 800 is documented passing Montclair on the rear of an out-of-service Metrolink equipment train bound for San Bernardino. |
| October 22, 2026 – 5:26 p.m. | A railfan update places No. 800 at Metrolink’s Eastern Maintenance Facility and No. 5704 at San Bernardino, staged for Saturday. |
| October 23, 2026 | No. 800 and No. 5704 remain staged in the San Bernardino area for the final transfer. |
| October 24, 2026 – morning | BNSF Nos. 3721 and 3700 move No. 800 and No. 5704 from San Bernardino toward Perris over the Perris Valley Line. |
| October 24, 2026 – afternoon | The special reaches SCRM. SP No. 3100 takes over on museum grounds and pulls No. 800 and No. 5704 down the museum main track. |
| October 24, 2026 – final move | SP No. 3100 uncouples, and No. 5704 shoves itself and No. 800 into the siding, clearing the main for the COASTER No. 2105/Santa Fe No. 108 excursion consist. |
Preserving the Move as Part of the History
The preservation of Metrolink No. 800 ensures that a piece of Southern California commuter-rail history will survive. Preserving the story of the move matters too.
The transfer was not a single event. It was a sequence of operations spread across four days: the museum’s announcement, the difficult departure from Keller Yard, the ride to San Bernardino, the BNSF special to Perris, SP No. 3100’s handoff on museum grounds, and No. 5704’s final shove into the siding.
Much of that sequence was recorded in fragments by railroad crews, museum volunteers, photographers, videographers, and railfans following the move in real time. Bringing those fragments together preserves not only the fact that No. 800 arrived in Perris, but how the locomotive made the journey.
Sources
This account was assembled from the Southern California Railway Museum’s October 21, 2026 announcement; dated posts in the public Heads Up California Railfans Facebook group; and Western Rail Archive’s firsthand video and photographs of the final switching move on museum grounds.
- Southern California Railway Museum, Instagram post announcing No. 800’s donation, October 21, 2026 (also reposted in “SoCal Railway Museum adds a Metrolink F40PH,” Trains.com Forums)
- Heads Up California Railfans (public Facebook group), dated posts, October 21–22, 2026
- Southern Pacific 3100 Details, Southern California Railway Museum
- Run One Program (Santa Fe 108, EMD FP45), Southern California Railway Museum
- Firsthand observation, video, and photographs: Western Rail Archive, Southern California Railway Museum, October 24, 2026
